


bless my homeland forever

by classof1832



Category: The Sound of Music - All Media Types, The Sound of Music - Rodgers/Hammerstein/Lindsay/Crouse
Genre: 1930s, Anschluss, Austria, Austrian Character, Catholic Character, F/M, Gen, Salzburg, The Sound of Music 2015 US National Tour, The Sound of Music 2017 US National Tour, Wordcount: 500-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 00:06:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13938336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/classof1832/pseuds/classof1832
Summary: He focuses on what he can – the fragile edelweiss flowers in the mountains; all his children around him, that day he heard them singing and finally allowed them back into his heart; the sight of Maria in her wedding dress, and knowing, deep in his bones, that he loves her and needs her and that she challenges him every day; and the fact that while Austria, the old Austria,hisAustria, may no longer exist, they do, by the grace of God, have a place of refuge.





	bless my homeland forever

**Author's Note:**

> This is based firmly on the US national tours, and specifically a moment I wish would have been in the show. 
> 
> Also if anyone wants to talk about the feminism in the musical – and believe me, it's in there – I'd love to discuss it in the comments.

Georg walks onstage and, quite literally, cringes.

The swastika symbols are everywhere, most noticeably on four, large banners on the back wall of the stage. He'd seen them in town as he and Maria returned from their honeymoon – the last time, he realizes, they had any normalcy in their lives that wasn't controlled by the Nazis – but this, somehow, feels deliberately directed to him and his family. All right, well, he doesn't know how logical that is, but _logic_ isn't exactly winning in this moment.

But what _is_ logical is that the banners are yet another, sinking reminder that his beloved Austria is no more, and with it, so many lost opportunities.

He will never be able to give Maria everything she deserves. On their honeymoon she was introduced as the Baroness von Trapp, of course, but now she had two stressful days to experience being such in their home. With her vibrant spirit, though, she most likely would not have been happy in the role of the mistress of the house, organizing dinners and making polite social calls and leaving the children to the care of a governess; she would especially be unhappy with the last. But this is Maria, and she would have turned things upside down in that fresh, bold way of hers. But now they'll never know, will they?

And the children... oh, and here's a sickening thought: once – _if_ – they leave, how much will Gretl and Marta remember of Austria, being so young? There's an incredibly likely possibility that being raised in America (if, God willing, they get there) will quickly erase memories of the land of their birth until they grow up completely forgetting the first part of their lives, losing their accents and being unrecognizable from any other American.

He's dimly aware of his breath getting more and more constricted, and he clutches the neck of the guitar so tightly it creates painful indents in his fingers.

A gentle hand touches his arm, startling him, and he turns to see Maria. She carefully helps him twist the guitar around until it rests on his back, and then she hugs him, tightly, seemingly uncaring of the audience or the Nazi stormtroopers that are _everywhere_. "Georg," she whispers, "are you all right?"

" _No_ ," he finally manages to choke out after a minute. "Maria, I don't know that I can do this, the banners with the damn swastikas – everything I love about Austria is dying–"

"Yes, it is," she answers. "This is the reality now, as painful as it is to say. But the reality _also_ is that the children need you to do your part, _I_ need you to, so that God willing we can leave afterwards. I know it's terrible, darling, but the 'Edelweiss' song and the entire concert is part of our plan. Sing knowing the children and I love you, and pray that God will protect us as we escape. And know I've been praying, harder than I ever have before in my life. You can do this."

He will never deserve her, not in a million years. And without her, he would probably be throwing up backstage, therefore ruining their plan and his children would grow up in no-longer-Austria under the control of the Nazis. Ever since she barreled into his life, she made and still makes him better. "All right," he whispers in her hair. This is what it will take for them to escape, and he will sing for a vanished Austria, for their children, and for her, his source of strength. She pulls back from their embrace a little and kissed him, not exactly in the most gentle way, but in a _we are going to get through this_ way. After they break apart, he touches her cheek, staring desperately into her light eyes, and nods. He doesn't want her to leave, even to walk across the stage, but he reluctantly lets her go.

As she returns to the children, Georg readjusts his guitar so it's in his hands again, and silently prays, _God, please,_ please _help us_. Right now he doesn't have enough energy to focus on the details of the plan, but God does, so it's all right.

So he focuses on what he can – the fragile edelweiss flowers in the mountains; all his children around him, that day he heard them singing and finally allowed them back into his heart; the sight of Maria in her wedding dress, and knowing, deep in his bones, that he loves her and needs her and that she challenges him every day; and the fact that while Austria, the old Austria, _his_ Austria, may no longer exist, they do, by the grace of God, have a place of refuge.

His fingers find the guitar strings, and he plays.


End file.
